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Ruins, The (US - BD)

For his trip to Mexico Gabe packs: a swimsuit, bottled water, and weed killer

Feature

On their last day of pre-college summer vacation in Mexico, a group of beautiful young people decide to follow a mysterious German lad to a previously undiscovered Mayan ruin. When they arrive they’re greeted by a group of hostile natives who chase them to the top of the ruin’s pyramid, where they’re left to rot. Soon fears of starvation subside when the kiddies realize the plants around them aren’t particularly friendly.

Is the general public simply ‘done’ with hard horror for the time being, or was The Ruins just poorly advertised? Based on the returns of other horror flicks, and the generally low public awareness, it was likely a bit of both. Even as a horror fan I’ve been generally disinterested with most recent Hollywood genre offerings, and the weak sauce trailers didn’t help at all (it looked like another Hills Have Eyes). I didn’t think the film’s paltry $22 million haul was any reason to be sad at the time, but now that I’ve actually seen the film I want to do everything in my extremely minimal power to change that figure with video release revenue.

The Ruins is not a masterpiece, and it won’t change the way you anyone looks at genre, but it might be the best film of its kind since Neil Jordon’s The Descent (which the cover art is obviously trying to evoke). What we’ve got here is a straight-faced and potent mix of the ever popular ‘pretty youth in peril’, and ‘malevolent monster’ motifs. Director Carter Smith and writer Scott B. Smith (no relation) don’t have a wacky gimmick like Cloverfield, they don’t have an original story telling motif like The Host, and they don’t fill the cracks with thick layers of direct or obvious homage like Wolf Creek or the Hostel films. There’s a hair of sociological undercurrent behind casting American and European protagonists and pitting them against an antagonistic Latin American entity, but we aren’t talking the distinct levels of social and political explorations of The Myst or the Hostel films.

The Ruins is not an entirely original film on character or plot levels, but there’s enough intrigue and surprise to likely keep most terror fans watching. The kids are archetypes, and the words they speak seem rather trite at times, but they’re believable, as are the majority of their actions, based on the minute amount of development we’re given in the film’s first dozen minutes. More importantly, I found them personally relatable, even when they’re doing unlikable things. The script has a pleasantly surprising habit of covering the minor inconsistencies and plot holes lesser b-horror quickies would likely ignore. These hole-fillers are a bit on the convenient side, but one learns to appreciate intelligence in straightforward horror where they can find it.

I'm positive that some of these images are going to be unshakable for the more weak stomached home audience. As stated, I didn’t see the film in theatres, so I can only guess at the differences are between the R and unrated versions (besides the alternate ending), but this ‘uncut’ version is a satisfyingly gory concoction. Those happily disturbed by the malevolent bacteria of Eli Roth’s Cabin Fever, or the revolting mutations of Kei Fujiwara’s Organ should be satisfied with these scenes of vineal (it's a word) infestation. It’s nice to have someone fill the void left by David Cronenberg’s recent focus on movies that aren’t about outward body mutation and mutilation.

Video

Again, The Ruins isn’t a terribly innovative film, but it takes an unusual approach to its horror and gore elements—they’re almost all shot in harsh sunlight. There are a few sequences of deep, dark terror when the kiddies take a few trips into the catacombs of the ruins, but for the most part the ick takes place out in the open. The transfer is slightly washed out, likely on purpose, but not as high contrast as too many recent Latin American features like Traffic, Babel, City of God and Borderland. These are all good-looking films, but I’m a little sick of the look. The colour pallet of The Ruins is equally warm to those films, but again, less extreme, more natural. The greens of the vines and the forest surrounding the ruins are super lush, but don’t pop unnaturally. Details are very sharp, sharp enough to really test the special effects (which sometimes fail a bit under such scrutiny). The frame is pretty grainy, but not too noisy. The biggest issue with the transfer, or the only one I really noticed on my 42 inch set, was the occasional white level flare out, which leads to some choppy edges.

Audio

The majority of The Ruins is dialogue centric, with mostly subtle tremors of natural surround effects, but there are some moments on this Dolby TrueHD that really standout. The evil plants blossom flowers, which can mimic the sounds around them, and at one particularly devastating moment, they start copying the screams of a female character. The rear and stereo channels really come alive in this moment, yet the sound isn’t distorted. Other effective surround moments appear when the campers take trips into the pyramid’s hole, but for the most part things are pretty low key. The score is a bit generic, but doesn’t draw too much unwanted attention to itself, and does offer a solid undercurrent to the winding horror.

Extras

Everything begins with an audio commentary featuring director Carter Smith and editor Jeff Betancourt. Neither commentator seems particularly prepared, but Betancourt takes a bit of a command and tends to ask Smith decent interview questions. There are some big blank spots, but for the most part things are pretty consistent. For me the track acted mostly as an insider’s guide to the novel, which I’ve never read.

‘Making The Ruins’ is mostly made up of a lot of actors, directors and producers (yes, that Ben Stiller was a producer) talking about how special their picture is, but it’s pretty informative for what basically amounts to an EPK. The interviews are coupled with film and on set footage, and the featurette itself is well structured, and divided into sequential sections. It’s not fantastic, but I did learn about the search for director Carter Smith, some of the differences between the book and film, and how to shoot Australia for Mexico. The featurette runs over fourteen minutes.

‘Creeping Death’ is a slight but fun featurette about the evil vines themselves, covering their basis in reality, design, construction, and the roll of CG effects. Honestly I thought the majority of the plants were real, making me a naïve sap. The latter half of the featurette is concerned with the film’s convincing gore effects, which even out of context are pretty freaking icky. This featurette is about fifteen minutes.

‘Building The Ruins’ is a slightly dull look at the design and construction of the film’s main ruin set. I’m very, very happy that the producers and designers decided not to go with the book’s original description of the ruins, which was apparently just a mound of earth. This one runs over six minutes.

Next we’ve got three deleted scenes and two alternate endings. The first scene is a brief sequence of our heroes sharing food and water while hoping for rain, which was deleted for pacing, but perhaps could’ve stayed in to better express the amount of time the characters are trapped. The second scene is a follow up night-time sequence, which really would’ve only added seeds of bad teen horror clichés. The third scene is a character beat that comes right before the finale, which is nice, but unnecessary. The first alternate ending starts the same as the unrated version, and closes with a funeral. The second alternate ending is the one that graced theatres, which is far less satisfying then the unrated cut’s ending. The scenes run about twelve minutes total, and are presented in high definition widescreen, with Dolby Surround sound, and optional director and editor commentary.

Everything ends with the original trailer, which doesn’t sell the film for crap.

Overall

Horror fans: please see The Ruins. Let the studios know we care about nominally intelligent and serious horror, not about the same tired Asian remakes. This isn’t an earth-shatterer, but it’s an effective flick, and pretty re-watchable. The Blu-ray disc features a stunning transfer and a fair amount of decent extras. I can’t make any guarantees, but I think most of the people looking for the right thing will be satiated.

* Note: The images on this page are not representative of the Blu-ray release.

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Billy Gates wrote: Triefy wrote: Billy Gates wrote: I like a couple horror movies but to me it's the worst genre in film.

Let me preface this by saying I am a horror fan. I am a podcaster who runs a show that reviews horror films and cult cinema.

This comment, to me, comes from someone who is ignorant to film history. Horror movies are subversive by nature. To me, and other film aficionados, it is one of the genres that has multiple subgenres and can penetrate into a person to strike a deep emotion.

Add to the fact that you depended on a film to get you some and I think I can safely say that you just lost alot of credit in my book.

There's a thing called sarcasm, you should look it up. I didn't expect anything, it was a joke. As for you insulting me about being ignorant to film history I must say f**k you. I don't have to be an "aficionado" to know film. I took 3 history of motion picture courses in school. I have a DVD library that spans over 1100 films, and I've seen MORE than that. So f**k you. I watch whatever the f**k I want, and if I don't like it I share my opinion. You may like horror films, I don't, so up yours. Ass.

I really don't feel like getting in an online fight with a douchebag right now. I have better things to do with my life. Like wiping my ass with a copy of "Citizen Kane".

I didn't get any sarcasm from your original post either. I will not give you the benefit of the doubt either. Honestly, what you might have thought was sarcasm reads off as immaturity. Especially since your retort was riddled with F-Bombs.

If you are taking classes on film appreciation, I would question your teacher. Horror is a very visceral experience and definately plays a role in how films are shaped today (for better or for worse).

One other thing, if you are going to say the comment that I quoted in the initial post you need to have some education behind it.

I don't go around saying that Romantic Comedies are the worst genre in film, they are just not my cup of tea - most of the time.

I was interested in getting into a healthy debate into this, but it is you that turned it into something that is juvenile and, in my opinion, boring.

Granted, we might not be in the right forum since this is about the DVD, but still, it would have been interesting. Thanks for, your words, "f**king" up the discussion.

Fabricio De Zuasnabar wrote: let me remind u guys that we all have different tastes, different opinions, so i guess if we like them or not, we have to respect each other's comments. he's not a horrorfan ok, deal with it. im a horror fan, cuz i love to get some scares, and i love the gore in the movies, the suspense, the killing and all that... but let me tell u i have not seen a GOOD horror movie in years... OK, the point here is... it's a waste of time to fight about our comments... nonsense, noone is gonna change what i think about certain movies or genres... so... u get me?

Totally understandable. I was actually trying to get some insight on why someone didn't like the film. It is a film that definately walks the line and is on the edge of mediocrity and excellence. I was just trying to think outside the box and get someone else's opinion.

I hate when people put in 2 sentences and say the movie sucked and don't explain themselves.

BTW, Check out INSIDE if you haven't yet. That might boost up your hope for horror.

let me remind u guys that we all have different tastes, different opinions, so i guess if we like them or not, we have to respect each other's comments. he's not a horrorfan ok, deal with it. im a horror fan, cuz i love to get some scares, and i love the gore in the movies, the suspense, the killing and all that... but let me tell u i have not seen a GOOD horror movie in years... OK, the point here is... it's a waste of time to fight about our comments... nonsense, noone is gonna change what i think about certain movies or genres... so... u get me?

Triefy wrote: Billy Gates wrote: I like a couple horror movies but to me it's the worst genre in film.

Let me preface this by saying I am a horror fan. I am a podcaster who runs a show that reviews horror films and cult cinema.

This comment, to me, comes from someone who is ignorant to film history. Horror movies are subversive by nature. To me, and other film aficionados, it is one of the genres that has multiple subgenres and can penetrate into a person to strike a deep emotion.

Add to the fact that you depended on a film to get you some and I think I can safely say that you just lost alot of credit in my book.

There's a thing called sarcasm, you should look it up. I didn't expect anything, it was a joke. As for you insulting me about being ignorant to film history I must say f**k you. I don't have to be an "aficionado" to know film. I took 3 history of motion picture courses in school. I have a DVD library that spans over 1100 films, and I've seen MORE than that. So f**k you. I watch whatever the f**k I want, and if I don't like it I share my opinion. You may like horror films, I don't, so up yours. Ass.

I really don't feel like getting in an online fight with a douchebag right now. I have better things to do with my life. Like wiping my ass with a copy of "Citizen Kane".

i saw this on the big screen and it really got made me jump a few times.

the thing is, i dont buy the carnivore plants. even though, i think this film is really good, im a huge horror fan, but i have only a few excellent horror movies, the rest it's for entertainment... for a good night scare. that's it, HORROR it's my favorite genre...

and THE RUINS was one of the best so far this year... and YES it was kind of emotional at some points...

now i owned it... and after a C+ rating i gave it at first... this time it gets a B for me...

Billy Gates wrote: I like a couple horror movies but to me it's the worst genre in film.

Let me preface this by saying I am a horror fan. I am a podcaster who runs a show that reviews horror films and cult cinema.

This comment, to me, comes from someone who is ignorant to film history. Horror movies are subversive by nature. To me, and other film aficionados, it is one of the genres that has multiple subgenres and can penetrate into a person to strike a deep emotion.

Add to the fact that you depended on a film to get you some and I think I can safely say that you just lost alot of credit in my book.

Chris Johnson wrote: Billy Gates wrote: Am I the only person who thought this movie was really stupid? Maybe it's just because I'm not a horror fan. I like a couple horror movies but to me it's the worst genre in film. There are very few that actually entertain me anymore. This was one of them. The worst part of watching this was spending $18 on it for me and the girl i went with and i didn't get any afterward or during the film. Freaking waste of money!!!

Anyway, good review Gabe, just sucks that I can't share the same opinion with me.

SPOLER: BTW, my reasons for not liking the movie, the plants were stupid, I did not care for any of the characters and the ending was terrible by having the character I hated the most survive. You are not alone. I agree with you 100% on everything you said (except you not getting any because that is not my problem), and horror really is dumb these days. Even dumber than it was in the 80s. I think it gets worse as time goes on.

True....I should have just been like, "you forced me to sit through this because you have a crush on the guy from Across The Universe that looks like Kurt Cobain, you better give me some action, damn you!!!" lol....then I would have gotten the c**p slapped outta me. IT WAS HER IDEA!!!!

David Blackwell wrote: I love the film. one of the better horror films of this year behind The Strangers.

I liked 'The ruins' but I really didn't like 'The strangers'. I liked how they kept the stranger in the corner and then the girl not looking over there. i just thought the film wasn't scary and was really boring for me to sit through.

Billy Gates wrote: Am I the only person who thought this movie was really stupid? Maybe it's just because I'm not a horror fan. I like a couple horror movies but to me it's the worst genre in film. There are very few that actually entertain me anymore. This was one of them. The worst part of watching this was spending $18 on it for me and the girl i went with and i didn't get any afterward or during the film. Freaking waste of money!!!

Anyway, good review Gabe, just sucks that I can't share the same opinion with me.

SPOLER: BTW, my reasons for not liking the movie, the plants were stupid, I did not care for any of the characters and the ending was terrible by having the character I hated the most survive. You are not alone. I agree with you 100% on everything you said (except you not getting any because that is not my problem), and horror really is dumb these days. Even dumber than it was in the 80s. I think it gets worse as time goes on.

I agree about the character who survived. She was the most obnoxious and whiny one. However I did like the movie and agree with the review. It was no masterpiece but it entertained and that's all that matters to me.

Am I the only person who thought this movie was really stupid? Maybe it's just because I'm not a horror fan. I like a couple horror movies but to me it's the worst genre in film. There are very few that actually entertain me anymore. This was one of them. The worst part of watching this was spending $18 on it for me and the girl i went with and i didn't get any afterward or during the film. Freaking waste of money!!!

Anyway, good review Gabe, just sucks that I can't share the same opinion with me.

SPOLER: BTW, my reasons for not liking the movie, the plants were stupid, I did not care for any of the characters and the ending was terrible by having the character I hated the most survive.